Lemonade scones

Scones

International Scones Incident Party

After the success of the previous International Incident Parties, this month we have scones to celebrate the birthdays of Cherrie and Anh. Happy birthday!

When I was in primary school back in NZ, we used to have lessons that we called “‘manual’ – where we learnt cooking, sewing, and woodworking. My favourite was the cooking (surprise surprise), probably because in woodworking all I could turn out were wonky wooden pencil cases, and in sewing I made boring bookmarks and cushions. But in cooking – oh cooking! In cooking we made things like apple crumble, Anzac biscuits, and scones, and not only was it fun, but we got to take our food home and eat it!

So I have a fondness for scones, though for some reason I don’t make them often. Scones have a reputation for being simple, but that simplicity is rather deceptive as it’s far too easy to bake a flat, dry, puck rather than a light, fluffy tower.

Scones Lemonade scones

Since I rarely bake scones, I decided that I wanted to make three versions for the Party.

Lemonade scones

Previously when I’ve made scones, I’ve always done them the traditional way – by rubbing the butter into the flour, etc. Lemonade scones are different in that they are made with lemonade, cream and self-raising flour. They are simple. All that I needed to do to make these scones was to mix the lemonade and cream together, then mix in the self-raising flour. I ended up with a very soft, very sticky dough – I did have to add a touch more flour to be able to shape them. I brushed the tops with milk, and they went into the oven for about 15 minutes.

Pistachio and lemon scones Vanilla and persimmon scones

Pistachio and lemon lemonade scones

My second batch of scones were similar to the lemonade scones, apart from the addition of the zest of two lemons, and 120g of roughly chopped pistachio kernels. I added more flour than with the plain lemonade scones, and this dough was much easier to shape into round scones.

Vanilla and persimmon jam scones

With my last batch of scones, I went with the traditional method of butter, flour and milk. To flavour them, I added a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, and some homemade persimmon jam that I had in the fridge. The dough for this batch was the firmest of them all, and they were pretty easy to shape.

The verdict

Lemonade scones

Lemonade scones

My plain lemonade scones were the ugliest of the lot, no doubt due to the super soft dough. Okay, let’s be kind and call them rustic! Despite the rustic outer, inside they were a thing of beauty. These scones were gorgeously light and fluffy – the fluffiest scones I’ve EVER baked. They had a nice crust, not too firm and not too soft,, with just the right amount of sweetness. They were divine when still warm from the oven and were a fine example of a scone.

Pistachio and lemon scones

Pistachio and lemon lemonade scones

I had high hopes for these ones – what’s not to love about pistachio and lemon? However, they were a bit drier than the plain version, possibly due to the extra flour, but maybe also the added ingredients? And disappointingly, I found the pistachios inside the scones very distracting. Baking had made the pistachios soft and I didn’t like the texture of them in the scone. In addition, there wasn’t enough sweetness for the lemon to work. So while the plain lemonade versions were great, these ones just seemed a bit lacking. Boo.

Vanilla and persimmon scones

Vanilla and persimmon scones

And finally – my last batch. This version turned out flat and big. They weren’t that pretty, but they tasted okay. When I made the persimmon jam, I kind of… caramelised it by accident, and I found that the burnt caramel notes came through in these scones. That wasn’t a bad thing! They were definitely interesting. The texture was okay – they were a bit heavier than the plain lemonade scones, but not too heavy.

Scones scones scones

Out of the three versions, my favourites were the plain lemonade ones. Plain scones with jam and cream are such a classic – and sometimes you can’t improve on the classics! I mentioned previously that they were the fluffiest scones I’ve ever made, but in addition to that, they were super quick and easy. It would be possible to have a batch in the oven in ten minutes – five if your kitchen is laid out well and you’re a fast mover. Since they only need to be baked for 15 minutes – a batch of scones can be ready from start to finish in less than thirty minutes. How speedy is that!

The only downside is that I rarely have cream and lemonade (or any soft drink) in the house. Guess I’ll have to start stocking it so I can make these scones more often!

The round up for this party will be at Addictive and Consuming, A Food Lovers Journey and [Sweet Cherrie Pie]. Thanks to Penny for organising another fab party, and happy birthday again to Anh and Cherrie.

Scones

Recipes

Lemonade scones

See this recipe for this version at Exclusively Food. The only changes I made were to add a pinch of salt to the batter, and brushing the tops with milk before putting them in the oven. I also added a touch more flour, just so I could shape them.

Lemon & pistachio scones

Follow the recipe for the lemonade scones from Exclusively Food, and add the zest of two lemons, and 120g roughly chopped pistachio kernels to the mixture.

Vanilla and persimmon jam scones

Adapted from Cardamom marmalade scones form AWW Bake

2&1/2 cups (375g) self-raising flour
1 tablespoon caster sugar
30g butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste /extract
2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind
1 cup (250ml) milk
1/3 cup (115g) persimmon jam

Preheat oven to 220°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Sift the flour and sugar into a large bowl, and rub in the butter with your fingers. Stir in the orange rind.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour in the combined milk and jam and vanilla bean paste/extract. Mix the milk and jam through the flour with a knife, until it’s just combined and you have a soft, sticky dough. Tip it out on to a floured surface and knead very lightly until smooth. Don’t overwork it!

Pat the dough out to a 2-3cm thickness, and using a 5cm cutter that has been dipped in flour, cut the dough into rounds. If you have any scraps, press them back together gently and cut out more rounds.

Place the scones side by side on the tray, just touching. Brush the tops with milk and bake them for about 15 minutes or until they are browned and they sound hollow when tapped firmly on the top with your fingers.